Ironing boards



May 12., 1959 J. E. woon 2,885,803

IRONING BOARDS Filed May l0, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 |NVEN-ror2 JOSEFI-l E. wooo, DECEASED Attorndy required for use. been conserved to such an extent that built-in iromng United States Patent Giiice Patented. May 12, 1959 Toronto, Ontario, Canada, assignor of one-halfto Robert C. Ovens, Toronto, Ontario, 'Canada -ApplicatiomMay 10,1957, `rSerial No. 658,920

1 Claim. (Cl. 38117) This invention relates to ironing boards.

Inhouseholds, .ironing boards are usual and necessary equipment, and the vogue or practice of some years ago was to have a built-in ironing board hinged Withina cup- :board from which it would be swung outwardly when Space in the modern apartment has .boards as `part of the kitchen equipment is now seldom provided.

It is true that some apartment buildings provide ironing boards in the basement laundry, but it is not always convenient or desirable to dothe ironing in the basement, and in large apartment blocks the laundry is not `always available when required.

4Portable collapsible ironing boards usually have va three Apoint support, with one leg diagonally disposed, and Vthe other two legs foldable as a unit. When this'type of ironing board is collapsed the diagonal leg extends beyoud the tapered end of the board, while the two remaining legs do not lie closely against the under side of the board and the board `and legs are not compactly arranged for convenient storage. In ironing, the operator must apply an adequate and .proper pressure of the iron on the garment or article being ironed, and to do so must bend forwardly over the ironing board, thus making la long period of ironing very tiring. The structure and disposition of the legs of these ironing boards do not permit the user of the boardto be Aseated While ironing, since there is not suilcient clearance space to accommodate a sitting position of Vthe .person using the ironing board.

It'appeared that an ironing board of compact construction could be manufactured for use in apartments and smallhomes in which space is frequently at a premium, and in arriving at a solution of this problem an ironing board was envisioned which would be foldable, andwhen 'folded the legs would t snugly between the `folded portions of the board. Also when the board is set up the 'legs would be disposed to give great stability to the ironing board, While at the same time permitting the user of the board to be seated if desired, when performing iron- "ing operations.

The construction of the ironing board according to `this invention has to comply with the following objects:

One of the objects of the invention is to construct a foldable ironing board which when folded will form a compact bundle occupying a minimum of space, and Athus readily stored when not in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide adequate clearance below the ironing board to permit an ironing operation being carried out while the operator is seated, with the knees extending under the ironing board and unobstructed by the ironing board supporting legs, there- .by permitting the operator to be properly positioned relatively to the ironing board and to the article being ironed.

A `further object of the invention is to `construct the legs of the ironing `board with upper and lower parallel arms, the upper arm extending transversely 'under and 2 being pivoted to 'the ironing board, -aud the lower ann designed to extend transversely across a 'floor directly below and for a distance approximately equal Vto the width of the ironing board, thereby imparting to the ironing board great stability when set up.

Still anotherobject ofthe invention is to construct vthe legs of vthe ironing board so that the upper and lower arms, and the leg portion connecting the armswill lie in the same plane when theironing board is set up for use, and also when the board is collapsed.

A 'further object still of the invention is to render'the legs extensible or telescopic.

Another object still of this invention is to construct an ironing lboardfoldable on a Vtransverse median line, and 'to so 4arrange the legs that when the ironing boardis folded, the legs will vbe nested between the two folded portions of the ironing board.

A further object of the invention, when the ironing board is formed with a tapered end andthe supporting leg for 'that end' spaced well in from such tapered end, to facilitate ironing certain garments or articles, is to construct the lower transverse arm of such tapered end leg adjustable, so that :the adjusted arm will extend across awidth of `flooring beneath the tapered end to alfort! "fully stable support and yet lie wholly nested within the narrower tapered end of the ironing board when in telescoped and folded position. I

`Further objects will be made clear as the specication develops. y

To comply with the above objects this ironing board is designedto be folded downwardly about a transverse median'lin'e, the two portions ofthe ironing boardbe'ing hinge'dly connected together. The legs for the ironing board are vformed of two parallel arms horizontally 'disposed, one being pivotally attached to the under face of the ironing board, and the other adapted to engage the floor, Vand a member which constitutes a portion of the leg is connected with these two'arms.

The llegs so constructed are rigidly held in openposition by hinged brackets which interlock. The vertical arm of the legs are `thus located adjacent one side of the ironing board while the parallel arms extend under the board, so that an vuninlpeded clear space exists between the legs, the ironing board and the oor. This permits the user of an ironingboard to be seated in close prox imity to the board when ironing. Thelegs of the board are made telescopic, so that the desired height of the ironing board above the tloor is obtained.

When the hinged brackets are closed, the legs which have been collapsed arey rotated, each under its own `adjacent section of the ironing board, which may then be folded about the median hinged connection, whereby the legs are embraced between the folding sections of the board, `so forming `a compact bundle capable of being stored in a small space.

So that the nature of the invention will be clearly understood, there is illustrated an embodiment of the same which shall be described in detail, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular arrangement of parts specifically described, but such parts may be modified within the scope vof the appended claim without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

In the drawings:

AFigure v1 is a side velevation of thefironing board with foldable legs located adjacent the opposite `ends of the board.

Figure 2 isan end elevation of the same.

`Figure 3 is a plan'view of the top of theironingboard, part being broken away 'to vshow the manner of lpivo'tally connecting a leg tothe ironing board. Y

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the improved ironing board as seen when in folded position.

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the connection between the two portions of the telescopic legs.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of another form of the ironing board, in which the legs are arranged in an alternative location to that shown in Figure l.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective View, partly sectional, showing the adjustment of the lower transverse arm of a leg located under the tapered end of the ironing board shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the lower end of the ieg shown in Figure 7 when in an expanded position.

Like characters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures. y Referring to the drawings, A represents the improved ironing board having a top formed in two abutting portions 10 and 11 hingedly connected at 12 so permitting the top being folded around the hinges on a median line transversely across the top.

The means for connecting the legs B to the under face of the top is the same for each leg so that only one will be described. From the under face of the top a pair of spaced angle brackets 14 depend, each bracket having one arm rigidly attached to the under face of 'the top, while the other arm is vertically disposed and provided with an orifice 15 in which the ends 16 of the upper transverse arm 17 of the legs are pivotally mounted.

Intermediate of the ends of the arm 17 a hollow leg member 18 depends, and in this hollow leg member a rod 19 is slidably mounted. To the lower end of this rod a transverse arm 20 is rigidly connected intermediate of its ends, and this arm engages the fiooring of the room, when and in which the ironing board is set up, and the transverse arms 20 and 17 are in parallelism. p

The rod 19 is formed at the end remote from the transverse arm 20 with the radially extending pin 21 which slidably engages the slot 22 extending longitudinally of the hollow leg 18. The lower end of the slot 22 is offset for the width of the slot, as shown at 23, and terminates in an upwardly disposed hook 24 which is in alignment with the slot 22.

The hook 24 forms a downwardly disposed concave i seat with which the pin 21 is designed to engage and interlock when the lower portion of the leg has been extended. It will be seen that by this unique form of joint the arm 20 and the arm 17 are maintained in parallelism when the ironing board is set up. Since the arms 20 and 17 are connected intermediate of their length with the rod 19 and the hollow leg 18 respectively, it will be clear that this will resist and eliminate any tendency for the ironing board A to be inadvertently tilted sidewise.

The legs B are held in open position by the hinged brackets 25, one arm 26 of which is pivotally attached tothe bracket 27 depending from the under face of the top of the ironing board, while the other `arm 28 is pivotally attached to the clamp 29 mounted on the leg 18. It will be noted that the arm 26 extends beyond its hinge point, and this extension 30 has an angle end 31 to engage the under edge of the companion hinge arm 28, so that when the hinge 25 is open, the arms 26 and 28 may swing just past alignment and be there held by the '5' angle end stop 31 limiting the opening movement of the hinge bracket.

The top of the ironing board is preferably formed with one tapered end to permit of certain articles of clothing such as skirts, slips and the like being readily drawn over the end of the board and ironed To hingedly mount the leg B near such tapered end, as shown in Figure l, limits the use of the end of the board for this purpose so that I illustrate in Figure 6 an alternative arrangement for mounting the leg B' under the tapered f end portion 11. Here the leg, consisting of a rod 19 4 and hollow member 18', has a transverse upper arm that connects with the under side of the board in the same way as already described but pivotally attaches to the board near the hinge 12 rather than at or near the tapered end. As this leg is designed to swing toward the tapered end of the board and nest therein when folded for storage, it opens less than and is held securely against collapse by a two piece hinge bracket 25 similar to but operating oppositely `to the brackets 25 mentioned hereinbefore. Additionally, because of the narrower width of the tapered end of the ironing board, the full width cross arm 20 could not nest therein, so I provide, as will be noted on reference to Figures 7 and 8, an arm 20' that is formed in two aligned portions 32 and 33. The portion 32 is rigidly attached to the lower end of the rod 19 and is provided with a central bore or sleeve 34 which extends for the major part of the length of this portion, one end of the bore or sleeve being open while the other end is closed, and through this closed 'end a concentrically arranged orifice 3S extends. Slidably mounted in the orifice 3S is a rod 36 extending from and forming part of the portion 33 of the arm 20',

and the end of this rod carries a piston or disc 37 which slidably engages the bore or sleeve 34, so permitting of the arm 20 being adjusted in length to provide that in collapsed form it will nest readily within the width of the tapered end of the top of the ironing board and yet when extended it will provide a full width iioor' engaging arm to assure complete stability.

When using the ironing board, the folded unit or bundle shown in Figure 4 is opened by rotating the two portions 10 and 11 of the top of the ironing board 'into abutting position. The legs are now rotated downwardly fthrough an angle slightly greater than 90 relatively to the under face of the board, so that the legs diverge slightly. In this position the hinged brackets 25 are opened until the arms 26 and 28 are in alignment when these arms are interlocked by the offset end 31 engaging the arm 28. In this position the board may be set up and the level thereof will be found appropriate for use by an operator in seated position.

If the operator desires to stand, the length of the legs are extended by pulling the rod 19 outwardly or downwardly, and during this movement the pin 21 is in sliding engagement with the slot 22, and at the bottom of the slot the rod 19 is rotated to a minimum extent in an anti-clockwise direction, so that the pin 21 rides easily around the offset portion 23 of the slot into the hooked end 24 to be seated and interlock therewith.

Since the legs B (or in the case of the modified form, the legs B and B) diverge slightly, any force applied to the top of the ironing board is properly distributed to the hinged brackets 25, and the abutting ends of the two portions 10 and 11 of the top of the ironing board are forced into intimate engagement. The ironing board when set up is consequently very stable, and will not tilt laterally owing to the shape of the legs B.

To fold the ironing board, the rod 19 is pulled downwardly to disengage the pin 21 from the seat in the hooked end 24, and the rod is slightly rotated in a clockwise direction to allow the pin 21 to enter the offset portion 23 and so enter the slot 22, whereupon the rod 19 is then pushed into the tubular leg portion 18.

In this position, the transverse arm 20, the tubular leg portion 18 and the transverse arm 17 all lie in the same yplane and the leg as a whole is then rotated into engagement with the under face of the respective portions 10 vor 11 of the top of the ironing board. The ironing board may then be folded by rotation of the two portions 10 `and 11 on the hinge 12, so that the ironing board now assumes the position shown in Figure 4, with the legs 4embraced between the portions 10 and 11, and the folded ironing board is ready for storage.

It will be clear that there are only two legs used with lthis ironing board, one for each portion 10 or 11 of the top, and as each leg, with its associated transversely extending arms lie in a single plane, and as the two planes of the two legs are spaced apart, there is a free unrestricted space extending completely under and from side to side of the ironing board, so that a user of this board is free to be seated on either side of this ironing board to carry out an ironing operation. The ironing board is consequently suited to both right and left handed users.

From the above description, it will be clear that I have invented an ironing board which may be readily set up for use, or folded into a compact bundle for storage, and with unique leg structure which permits of the user of the ironing board performing ironing operations when seated.

Having thus described what is claimed as new is:

The combination of an ironing board tapered at one end and comprising a top formed in two portions foldable one over the other for compact storage; a spaced pair of angle brackets mounted on the underside of each portion of said top; a leg individual to each portion and comprising a pair of spaced transverse arms arranged in parallelism with a normally vertically disposed extensible member operatively connected to the arms intermediate of the ends thereof, one of each pair of arms being pivotally attached near its opposite ends by a pair of said angle brackets to its associated portion of the top, said angle brackets lying on opposite sides of the normally vertically disposed extensible member connected intermediate the ends of the arm, the transverse arms and vertical member of each leg lying in the same plane; and a hinged bracket adapted to secure each leg in Vertical open position when the ironing board is set up; the extensible member of said leg being formed of telescopic upper and lower parts and said hinged bracket being short and serving to connect the upper part of the legs extensible member with the ironing board top; the leg associated with the tapered end portion of the top being attached near the inner end of said portion and its hinged bracket extends from its upper telescopic part toward the tapered end but less than half way thereto whereby the greater part of the length of the tapered end is left clear and unobstructed; the lower arm of said tapered end portion leg having a transversely extendable part than in opened position provides a foot approximately the full width of the board top and in closed position is narrow enough to lie within the Width of the tapered end of the board under which it is positioned when the leg is telescoped and pivoted to allow the two portions of the board to be folded for storage.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,921,026 Garman Aug. 8, 1933 2,622,353 Mendelson Dec. 23, 1952 2,661,554 Siczkiewicz et al. Dec. 8, 1953 2,663,102 Olander Dec. 22, 1953 2,675,635 Toth Apr. 20, 1954 2,721,407 Sutherland Oct. 25, 1955 2,738,604 Toth Mar. 20, 1956 

